Woodlands near the refuge on the way to Cerro Bonales

You pass green woodlands with chestnut trees and the remnants of the indigenous forest of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica).
The distance is approximately 8 km to the summit of the Bonales, leaving Arroyomolinos de León, the old cobblestone road, climbing up the Cuesta de los Olivos.

A really nice and enjoyable walk!

More walking opportunities in the Sierra Morena

Golden Eagle in the Sierra Morena

In this corner of Sierra Morena, the fauna is very rich, with a number of species such as wild cat, badger, marten, otters and the Iberian lynx, the world’s most endangered cat. The importance of birds is no less important. In these wild places you will find the black stork nesting, the black and red kite, golden eagle and black vulture.

The impressive black kite (Milvus migrans) is gregarious and in flight looks black. It usually feeds on prey such as sick or injured birds and carrion. Frequents landfills. Its habitat is the forest and open spaces near to our refuge.

Read more about the Wildlife

The tractor´s parade, coming in and out town, dancing, one by one , leaving behind that smell, unmistakeble, to smashed  grapes.

We leave behind

That dog, lagging behing, partner, friend and witness of the reached farm work.

We leave behind

Women, with a shawl in their head, bent down, perfumed with romero and lavanda, their faces, weather-beaten by the winter cold , their mothers, right there, rest in peace.

Their teethless mouths, their run away looks, their wounded hands, and still, threre is no time for rest.

Now

The village, at La Mancha, is changing, hard to distinguish between summer people, retired, Acisclo´s son, Kuki´s brother or Aunt Benancia.

We don´t know if the came to stay, or if they didn´t leave because of fear from moving.

But this ” El Pueblo”, this is  La Mancha, Here, we still are loyal to the morning cold, to the rain stars, to the morning gossip.

They are from Cabeza la Vaca, highest village in Badajoz province, Extremadura.

We set off with Vito, Chema, Gregor  along with his family. Gregor came from Germay to help us out as a wwoofer .  They left us  great memories: smiling, respectul, hard-worker, disciplined, inteligent, carpinter. Hopefully he will come back to visit us with his family (Ingrid, Clara y Noa).

At the beginnign I looked for someone who knew how to work the stone, but surprisinly I found someone who knew far more than that, Vito manages very well everything concerning rural works, he is a true selfsufficiency man.

We were introduced at Bar Parada, the official place for local deals (sheep, goats, pigs,…). We shook hands tightly and then he asked what was to be done, I timidly looked to his eyes, knowing that my first words, what I said and how I said it were very important, or at least that is what I thought: “I want to build a house made of stone and mud”, and he answered back “I will do it but we have to go and have a look “.

Vito in the huerta

… to be continued

Wind, bringing and carrying things away, and also the ideas.

Water, blood and origing of life.

Wood, that is the shell, the skin that protects us.

Earth, upon which we gravitate.

Fire,  power to transform, heat for the rest.

May 2.010

Sierra Mountain Refuge

Beauty turns into suffering.

Man´s work, from his hands, stops, slows down the chaos, the infinite.

The balance from both powers, nature and human is the representation of a scienctific filosophy, from Mother Earth.

The refuge is an isolated as well as anonym manifestation of that phenomenon.

June 2.010

the work of art

the magic

the romanticism

the purest and most infinite gift

the reality of life

the wild,

the vulnerability,

the inmediacy

the eternal,

the unreachable

Right now we are still working on the refuge construction (as well as on the vegetable garden), we are striving to finish it up with as much passion and commitment as possible, hoping that when guest come will appreciate our efforts.

So please keep in touch and by the  coming autumn we will definitively start our biggest and most challenging adventure.

Un fuerte abrazo,

Javier Aguirrebengoa

Thanks
Javier